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How to fold an origami pirate island

A real project. Pleat and cut a pirate ship with a sail and a skull flag, then make a sandy island, a palm with eight long fronds, a treasure chest full of gold and a parrot. Glue it all onto a wavy sea that stands up.

You need: 11 pieces: an 11 × 5 cm sand piece, then brown, green, yellow, red, cream, black and blue pieces (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, a black pen and a white gel pen.. Challenge, 56 steps, about 60 minutes.

Steps

  1. Island: fold in half. Start with the island: an 11 × 5 cm sand piece, sand side up, lying long. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  2. Island: cut the hill. Round off the top corner at the open side with two cuts, from 2.6 cm down the side to 3.2 cm in along the top.
  3. Island: open it. Open the island out flat again: a low, round sandy hill.
  4. Island: white surf. Fold 6 mm of the bottom edge onto the front. The white strip is surf washing up on the beach.
  5. Palm trunk: new sheet. Set the island aside. For the palm trunk, take a 3 × 13 cm brown strip, white side up, standing tall.
  6. Palm trunk: sides in. Fold both long edges in to meet along the middle. The trunk is brown all over.
  7. Palm trunk: pleat it. Fold the top down on a crease 5.8 cm below the top edge.
  8. Palm trunk: and back up. Fold it back up on a crease 4 mm lower. The step it leaves is a ring on the trunk.
  9. Palm trunk: pleat again. Make a second pleat the same way 2.6 cm higher: fold the top down, then back up 4 mm lower. Two rings make the trunk look like a real palm.
  10. Palm trunk: back up. Fold the top back up 4 mm lower than the last crease.
  11. Palm fronds: new sheet. Set the trunk aside. For the fronds, take a 12 cm green square, white side up.
  12. Palm fronds: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge. The fold along the top is where the fronds meet the trunk.
  13. Palm fronds: in half again. Fold the left half over onto the right half, so the middle of the top fold is the top left corner.
  14. Palm fronds: to a wedge. Fold the bottom left corner up along the diagonal from that top left corner.
  15. Palm fronds: thinner still. Fold the wedge in half once more from the same corner, the diagonal fold onto the top fold, so it is a thin spike.
  16. Palm fronds: cut the comb. Cut the spike to a long point: from 1.6 cm along each folded side to the middle of the far edge. That cuts all eight fronds at once.
  17. Palm fronds: open. Unfold the last fold.
  18. Palm fronds: open again. Unfold the diagonal fold.
  19. Palm fronds: open the fan. Unfold the left half too, leaving the top fold closed. Eight long fronds fan out and droop from the top.
  20. Chest: new sheet. Set the fronds aside. For the treasure chest, take a 6 × 5 cm brown piece, brown side up, long side across.
  21. Chest: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  22. Chest: cut the lid. Round off the top corner at the open side with two cuts, from 1.3 cm down the side to 1.4 cm in along the top.
  23. Chest: open it. Open it out flat again. The top is a rounded lid.
  24. Chest: pleat up. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 2.4 cm below the top.
  25. Chest: pleat down. Fold it back down on a crease 4 mm higher. The ledge is where the lid closes.
  26. Chest: straps. Fold 5 mm of each side edge onto the front. The white strips are metal straps.
  27. Gold: new sheet. Set the chest aside. For the gold, take a 3.2 × 2 cm yellow piece, yellow side up, lying long.
  28. Gold: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  29. Gold: round the heap. Round off the top corner at the open side with two cuts, from 1.4 cm down the side to 1.4 cm in along the top.
  30. Gold: open it. Open it out flat again: a round heap of gold.
  31. Parrot: new sheet. Set the gold aside. For the parrot, take a 5 cm red square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  32. Parrot: make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to meet along the middle, from the bottom corner. The long point is the tail.
  33. Parrot: turn it over. Turn the kite over, left to right. It is red all over.
  34. Parrot: fold in half. Fold the left half behind along the middle. The long fold is the parrot's chest; it faces right.
  35. Parrot: the head. Fold the top point down to the right, creasing from 2 cm below it on the fold to 1.7 cm along the top edge. The point is a hooked beak.
  36. Mast: new sheet. Set the parrot aside. For the mast, take a 1.6 × 12 cm dark brown strip, white side up.
  37. Mast: sides in. Fold both long edges in to meet along the middle, for a thin brown mast.
  38. Sail: new sheet. Set the mast aside. For the sail, take a 5.5 × 6 cm cream piece, cream side up.
  39. Sail: shape it. Fold each side behind on a slant, from the bottom corner to 8 mm in at the top, so the sail narrows upwards.
  40. Flag: new sheet. Set the sail aside. For the flag, take a 3.5 × 2.5 cm black piece, black side up, lying long.
  41. Flag: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up onto the top edge.
  42. Flag: cut a swallowtail. At the right end, cut a slant off the folded corner, from 8 mm along the fold to 6 mm up the side.
  43. Flag: open it. Open it out. The notch makes two tails that flap in the wind.
  44. Hull: new sheet. Set the flag aside. For the ship's hull, take a 9 × 6 cm brown piece, white side up, lying long.
  45. Hull: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold along the bottom is the keel.
  46. Hull: pleat down. Fold the top edges down together, creasing 1.5 cm below them.
  47. Hull: pleat back up. Fold them back up on a crease 4 mm lower. The step across the hull is the ship's rail.
  48. Hull: cut bow and stern. Through all layers, cut a long slant off the right end, from the top corner to 1.8 cm in along the keel, and a short one off the left end, 9 mm in.
  49. Sea: new sheet. Set the hull aside. Last, the sea: a 21 × 13 cm blue piece, blue side up, lying long.
  50. Sea: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  51. Sea: in half again. Fold the right edges back over onto the left fold, to a stack 5.25 cm wide.
  52. Sea: cut the waves. Round off both top corners of the stack with two cuts each, from 1 cm down the sides to 1.8 cm in along the top.
  53. Sea: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  54. Sea: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Four rolling waves run along the top of the sea.
  55. Build the island. Glue the island and palm on the right, 4 cm above the bottom, chest and gold on the hill, parrot on the lid. Glue the mast, sail, flag and hull on the left.
  56. Stand it up. Crease the sea along the bottom of the island and the ship. Stand the scene up, with the front of the sea lying flat on the table.

Yo ho ho!

Draw the skull and bones in white on the flag, white portholes on the hull, waves on the sea, the parrot's eyes and wings, the chest's lock and coins in the gold.

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